Local Chain - Grindhouse Killer Burgers
Regional - Culver’s
National fast food - Wendy’s
National fast casual - Five Guys / Shake Shack
I agree with all of this except local because that ain’t in my locale.
For me, local would go to Tasty Burger in Boston, when I lived there.
This is the first sane answer I’ve seen. Shake Shack has a drive thru where I live, and puts all other drive thru burgers to shame. Also Whataburger is very mid. Texans need to get out more.
I don’t really think there is a best one. They all have pros and cons. Maybe if I was to compare just a basic hamburger (bun, burger, cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickle, onion, mayo, mustard, ketchup), then I would have to say In-n-Out. But everyone has one thing either only that place has, or does better than anyone else with a similar burger.
Basic: In-n-Out’s classic Double Double.
Bacon: Wendy’s Baconator.
Western Style: Carl’s Jr’s double bacon western burger.
Steakhouse Style: Carl’s Jr’s Bourbon Steakhouse Burger (I wish this fucker was a regular item because it is so, so good)
Smoke Meat: Arby’s Meat Mountain.
Chicken: Burger King’s original chicken sandwich.
But I would still take my own home cooked burger to any of these, if I was going to mimic one of them.
Are you serious about the chicken? Not wanting to argue.
You don’t want to argue because you know that the BK Original is the best chicken Sammy in existence. 😤
Five Guys, best ingredients by far, especially the veggies. Lettuce and tomato are always perfect. Quite a bit more expensive than most of the competitors though.
Among the big three, the whopper by a whopper.
Otherwise yeah, my local is better than your local nah nah nah boo boo
Culver’s is amazing, just so delicious.
In-N-Out is consistently good
Wendy’s baconator, when made properly, can be pretty awesome too. Burgers in general are awesome
Whataburger is my favorite place if I’m only counting large chains with drive through windows and other fast food restaurant features.
The food is almost always fresh, plenty of customization options like grilled onions and jalapeños. Almost everything on the menu is good quality for fast food. Being open 24 hours is a nice bonus.
If small regional chains count Burger Street is the best, really good burgers, great curly fries and delicious frozen lemonade.
+1. Best bang for buck chain drive-thru burgers. When I want a fastfood burger to actually make me feel full, that’s my go-to.
As a life long Texan, I have to say it’s not Whataburger anymore. They’ve slipped in recent years.
They’re not everyone’s cup of tea, but I’m personally very partial to white castle. Those onions just do it for me.
Out of the big players, in general I like Wendy’s, but they almost fall into an uncanny valley sort of thing where they’re so close to being a real (not fast food) burger, but not quite there, so I kind of have to be in the mood.
IMO burger king has the best veggie option in the impossible Whopper.
If we’re going to count it as fast food, 5 guys is top notch. Similarly for shake shack, they also get bonus points for their shrooms burgers for the best veggie option overall, it doesn’t try to be a regular burger, and is probably actually more unhealthy than one too.
Getting into weirder local chains, Cook Out is pretty great if you find yourself in the parts of the south that have them.
If we want to talk chicken sandwiches, Popeyes is the undisputed king and I will fight anyone who says otherwise. McDonald’s crispy chicken gets honorable mention for being a solid alternative for people like me who refuse to eat at chick fil a, and the McChicken for being cheap and satisfying if not technically good.
True story, when I was young my family stopped at a White Castle on a cross country road trip and got some food that was so bad our dog wouldn’t eat it. This dog loved to eat garbage and cat crap at every opportunity but drew the line at White Castle burgers.
Burgerville, the Oregon/Washington chain. My favorite is the half pound colossal cheeseburger.
Burgerville is sooooo good.
Local joint down the street. Very simple burgers, no salad, tomatoes or fucking avocados. Only good toasted bread, excellent burger and home made sauces. Some have pickles or onions in different forms (grilled, glazed,…). And excellent homemade fries too.
You’re not even going to name the place?
C’mon man!
Nota Burger
Tough choice
Five Guys has what I would argue are the best burgers, but they are expensive and a heartattack on a bun. You get what you pay for, healthy food is not on their menu.
In-&-Out is also up there but more how they run their resturants. They are still unimpressive but above average fast food, but I feel that is how a fast food joint should be managed.
Pal’s Sudden Service in east TN/NC also is a notable mention as the food travels best. No other fast food place has a burger that is reheatable, truely a rare thing to find. Also their old buildings are the old style of fast food, drive through only with silly colors to get your attention from the road, A+ in my book.
Best mom&pop / non-chain shops is a toss up. Melt - Leesburg VA Pops Kitchen & Diner - Easton PA
Whataburger, no contest. It’s pricier than other fast food, but the taste and quality are unmatched.
I’ve found this is only true if you eat at the restaurant, there is a very short timer that starts as soon as your food comes out, any longer than that and the cheese starts to coagulate and the fries get cold and tough.
Yeah, the only one of these near me is Five Guys, and that really doesn’t survive the drive home. Definitely best eaten immediately
The double Lotaburger with cheese, bacon and green chile. Nothing will ever come close.
Agreed. Shout out new Mexico and El Paso. I always have one while there
Laguna Burger has Blake’s heat by a mile. I grew up in New Mexico and would always get a lotaburger when I went back home but now it is a visit to Laguna Burger near the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center.
Blakes’ quality fell when they expanded out of NM.
Oh there are certainly better burgers to be had in NM and the world beyond, but the question was what was the best fast food burger, thus I answered the truth. No better burger than Blake’s on Guadalupe St. in the summer heat or the winter cold while the drunk guy asks for money so he can get some seasoned fries with his [sic] “Wataburger.”
The whopper is the best. :)
Impossible Whopper :)
Absolutely not, because it replaced the aloo tikki/potato option
Still mad about that. Fucking love veggie burgers but can’t stand fake meat nonsense.
Seeing all these comments for places not available to me sucks lol. All my “city” has is A&W, Timmie’s, McDonald’s, Dairy Queen and KFC. A&W has the best fast food burgers of the options available to me but I prefer KFC when I have a fast food craving.
Northern Canada fucking sucks.
